The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Better Medicare Alliance – ISIS leader dead; Congresswoman resigns

 

 

 

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The Houston Astros won Game 5 of the World Series over the Washington Nationals on Sunday night, taking a 3-2 series lead in the process. Houston’s Justin Verlander and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg will face off on Tuesday night in Game 6 with the series on the line.

After years of hunting, the U.S. Army’s Delta Force conducted a daring raid on Saturday and cornered the most wanted terrorist in the world, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who blew himself up alongside three of his children at a compound in northwestern Syria, President Trump announced on Sunday.

 

Trump, who detailed the news from the White House, declared an end to ISIS and its feared 48-year-old founder after five years of brutal fighting spanning two administrations.

 

At the height of its reign of terror, ISIS, which began as an offshoot of al Qaeda, controlled a radical Islamic caliphate the size of Great Britain, with followers in 100 countries.

 

“The world now is a much safer place,” Trump said during remarks that were prepared and improvised, followed by a question-and-answer session he held with reporters.

 

Reuters: Mixing medieval atrocities with modern technology and the internet, al-Baghdadi favored a version of an ultra-fanatic Islam that horrified mainstream Muslims and much of the world. Under his orders, ISIS carried out the genocide of thousands of Yazidis, a religious minority, while enslaving women, holding public floggings and beheading unbelievers, enemies and hostages, including captives from the United States, Britain and Japan.   

 

The Hill: Trump announces death of ISIS leader in U.S. raid.

 

The president sought to portray al-Baghdadi’s last moments as panicked and humiliating, a message Trump said he wanted to convey to the terrorist’s remaining followers.

 

“They should see how he died. …He died like a dog. He died like a coward,” Trump said. “He was screaming, crying and whimpering, and he was scared out of his mind,” the president continued, providing no explanation about how al-Baghdadi’s final words were monitored and translated from inside a “dead-end tunnel.”   

 

Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper hailed the U.S. special operations forces and intelligence community while conceding that Islamic State fighters and their violent ideology remain a threat in the Middle East.

 

Reuters: ISIS jihadist group remains dangerous.

 

The Sunday Times (UK): Delta Force: One of the most secret special operations units in the U.S. military.

 

The president praised international cooperation the United States received in advance of the commando raid from Russia, Turkey, Iraq and the Syrian Kurds, the ISIS-fighting U.S. allies.

 

Trump said there had been “a very small group of people who knew about this” before the events on Saturday, acknowledging that on his orders, few members of Congress were briefed about the operation until it was over to prevent “leaks.” The president teased his announcement on Twitter 12 hours before he addressed the nation.

 

Those left in the dark included Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who both praised U.S. forces and the operation’s outcome, saying they look forward this week to a defense briefing (The Hill).

 

Reuters: Iraq’s intelligence service provided the U.S.-led coalition with the exact coordinates of al-Baghdadi’s location, paving the way for the U.S. raid, according to an Iraqi intelligence official in Baghdad.

 

The Washington Post: A disaffected ISIS militant became a key informant for the Syrian Kurds, who worked with U.S. forces in the hunt for the ISIS chief, who died in Idlib province in Syria, a U.S. official said.

 

Trump said the U.S. operation was organized over a span of several weeks and was not connected to his announced decision earlier this month to withdraw U.S. forces from northeastern Syria following a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

 

“We’re out,” the president said of the U.S. military presence in Syria. “But we’re leaving soldiers to protect the oil.”

 

The New York Times: Withdrawal from Syria threw a wrench into the operation. 

 

The New York Times: Trump and the made-for-TV announcement he has long wanted.

 

The Hill: The Washington Post invited controversy on Sunday with headline changes topping its al-Baghdadi obituary. “Islamic State terrorist-chief” became “austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State,” which the newspaper changed again to “extremist leader of Islamic State.”

 

Perspectives & Analysis: 

 

The Hill: Top administration officials, appearing on Sunday news shows, stressed the need for resolve in fighting ISIS following the successful U.S. raid.

 

Brett McGurk: Baghdadi’s death underscores what we’ve lost by abandoning Syria’s Kurds.

 

The Wall Street Journal editorial board: The lessons of Baghdadi.

 

Jennifer Rubin: Three ways the Baghdadi raid undermines Trump’s chaotic policy.

 

Robin Wright: U.S. intelligence has estimated that ISIS has between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters in underground cells still operating in Iraq and Syria.

 

 

 

LEADING THE DAY

IMPEACHMENT WATCH & CONGRESS: House investigators are set for another key week on Capitol Hill as they continue their impeachment inquiry into the president’s actions regarding Ukraine with a series of key interviews behind closed doors. However, despite the current slate of interviews, lawmakers are hoping to hear from one potential witness more than others: John Bolton.

 

Bolton, who abruptly exited the White House last month, has suddenly topped the wishlist of potential witnesses for Democrats, as his name has repeatedly come up during depositions over the past month. Add to that his acrimonious and unceremonious departure from the White House, and Bolton has become a person of interest to investigators, as Laura Kelly writes. 

 

Among those who have placed Bolton in situations of interest to House Democrats are Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer; Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union; Energy Secretary Rick Perry; and former special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker. However, Bolton’s testimony could prove to be the most damaging depending on where he comes down on the ideological spectrum.

 

A high-profile conservative, Bolton views the president’s powers as expansive and has defended preemptive military strikes, though it is unclear whether any testimony from him would defend Trump’s actions as an extension of executive powers or if he would paint those actions as an abuse of power that’s damaging to the rule of law and order.

 

“He’s not a friendly guy, but he does know right from wrong,” one former colleague said of Bolton. “He’s been around the national security scene for a long time. He knows what’s appropriate and what isn’t.”

 

The New York Times: Waiting for Bolton: A capital speculates on what he will say. 

 

Fox News: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.): John Bolton is “key witness” in impeachment inquiry.

 

Paul Kane: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to avoid Trump drama. Instead, he’s a major player.

 

After taking a two-day pause to mourn the loss of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), investigators were back at it on Saturday as they deposed Philip Reeker, the diplomat in charge of U.S. policy in Europe. Reeker reportedly said behind closed doors that he pressed top State Department leaders to support Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, publicly as she became the target of criticism from Giuliani and allies of the president (The Washington Post).

 

Following Reeker’s testimony this week, investigators are expected to hear from at least six more individuals: Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council’s director for European affairs;  Kathryn Wheelbarger, acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; Catherine Croft, a former special adviser for Ukraine at the State Department; Christopher Anderson, who was a special adviser to Kurt Volker; Suriya Jayanti, a Foreign Service officer in Kiev; and Tim Morrison, the National Security Council’s senior director for Russia and Europe. 

 

It is also unlikely that former Deputy National Security Adviser Charles Kupperman will comply with a subpoena and appear before the investigatory committees today (The Washington Post). 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, House Republicans are trying to plot out their next steps to counter the impeachment inquiry but are unsure how exactly to proceed after publicly storming a deposition and attempting to censure Schiff last week.

 

As Scott Wong and Juliegrace Brufke report, the GOP’s “throw-everything-at-the-wall” strategy is a prime example of its disadvantage in the impeachment fight as House Democrats flex their muscle and demonstrate their control over the impeachment process.

 

Democrats “control the flow of access and information. That’s the benefit of winning elections,” said one House GOP aide close to the impeachment fight.

 

Politico: Impeachment ghosts haunt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Schumer.

 

The Washington Post: They bonded over football years ago. Now Trump sees Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) as his harshest GOP foe.

 

> House resignation: Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) resigned her seat in Congress Sunday night. She faced a House Ethics Committee investigation of improper relationships with a campaign staffer and allegations of an intimate relationship with a member of her congressional staff. Hill, a freshman, confirmed the former and denied the latter (The Hill). 

 

“It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress,” Hill said in a statement. “This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I believe it is the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country.”  

 

Politico was the first to report news of her resignation. 

 

The Hill: Vulnerable Republicans balk at Trump-backed drug pricing bill.

 

More from Congress:  Former Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) died Sunday at age 90. Conyers, a former dean of the House and co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, resigned from Congress in 2017 after allegations that he had sexually harassed female staffers and settled one case with taxpayer funds (The Hill) … House and Senate negotiators are struggling to reach a compromise on several issues in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act related to the president’s border wall, dragging the bill into a quagmire that has bedeviled multiple legislative efforts in recent years (The Hill).

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

POLITICS: Former Vice President Joe Biden maintained during an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday that he is still the front-runner for the Democratic nomination and shook off concerns that he is too old and not raising enough cash as the first Democratic primary voters head to the polls in just over three months (The Hill).

 

“I know I’m the frontrunner,” Biden told CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell. “Find me a national poll with a notable…a couple exceptions. But look, this is a marathon.”

 

O’Donnell also pressed him repeatedly about his age, which Biden dismissed, arguing that his experience is an asset.

 

“What they’re really trying to make the case is about age. And with age comes experience, with experience comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes judgment,” Biden said. O’Donnell also asked Dr. Jill Biden, his wife, whether she has noticed “any change in his ability to communicate in recent years.”

 

“No,” she said with a laugh. “Not at all.”

 

The Hill: Biden: Trump “an idiot” for saying Russian interference a “hoax.”

 

New York Magazine: The Zombie Campaign: Joe Biden is the least formidable front-runner ever. Will it matter?

 

The Hill: 2020 Democrats commend U.S. forces following ISIS leader’s death.

 

 

 

 

> Iowa countdown: With fewer than 100 days remaining until the Iowa caucuses and 18 candidates left, Niall Stanage takes a deep dive into what seven of the top candidates need to do in order to become the party’s standard-bearer and have the chance to face off with the president next year. 

 

Politico: Democrats confront the prospect of a long primary.

 

The Atlantic: Tom Perez’s no-win situation.

 

The Hill: 2020 Democrats set sights on corporate tax hike.

 

> Alabama: An internal struggle is threatening Sen. Doug Jones’s (D-Ala.) chances of pulling off an already unlikely reelection win next year.

 

As Reid Wilson reports, A yearlong battle between Jones, the only Democratic senator from a Southern state, and the head of his own state Democratic Party organization has exploded into charges of discrimination and intimidation, and party officials worry the feud could complicate an already difficult reelection bid in one of the most conservative states in the country.  

 

The fight for control of the party between Jones and Nancy Worley, the current head of the party, has revived painful allegations of racial discrimination. However, what makes matters complicated are the countercharges of generational discrimination and acrimony between the African American Democrats who were on the front lines of the fight for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s and a younger group of rising leaders who say they are being shut out of the party they will soon control.

 

The dispute has extended to the Democratic National Committee, as Chairman Tom Perez has withheld money allotted to build up the state party and threatened to leave Alabama’s delegation out of next year’s party convention in Milwaukee. Adding to the problems, legal costs have decimated the state party’s campaign coffers, creating yet another challenge for Jones ahead of his reelection battle. 

 

The Wall Street Journal: Georgia GOP on pins and needles over Gov. Brian Kemp’s Senate choice.

The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-staging.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-staging.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!

OPINION

Trump needs to set his Senate strategy now: Expect a long slog through four years of context, by Hugh Hewitt, opinion contributor, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2BMhwkz 

 

U.S. Supreme Court readies for Trump, by Albert Hunt, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2NlKn4u 

 

We are in a fight for the soul of our democracy, by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), in a Washington Post op-ed adapted from a forward he wrote July 17 for a forthcoming book by Cedric L. Alexander. https://wapo.st/2JsuEzs

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WHERE AND WHEN

Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who offers her take on the U.S. raid in northwestern Syria over the weekend; Buck Sexton, host of “The Buck Sexton Show,” also reacts to the death of the ISIS founder and leader; journalist Glenn Greenwald, co-founding editor of The Intercept, discusses news of the day and the 2020 presidential race; and The Hill’s Judy Kurtz, who offers insights about the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, given to Dave Chappelle, an Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner, on Sunday. Watch at 9 a.m. ET at http://digital-staging.thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10 a.m. at Rising on YouTube.

 

The House will reconvene at noon. 

 

The Senate meets at 3 p.m. and resumes consideration of the fiscal 2020 appropriations measure that includes commerce, justice, science, agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration, interior, environment, military construction, veterans affairs, transportation and housing and urban development.

 

The president today makes his first visit to Chicago as president to speak to the conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He’ll sign an executive order there (The Associated Press). Trump will participate in a joint GOP fundraising committee luncheon and roundtable held at the Trump International Hotel & Tower, then return to the White House to join first lady Melania Trump in a White House Halloween celebration, which is open to military families and local schoolchildren and their parents from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

 

Vice President Pence meets at 11:45 a.m. with the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association board of directors, then heads to Baton Rouge, La., to offer some political help at a donor reception at 5 p.m. for gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone (R), who is challenging incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards (D). From Louisiana, Pence will fly to Killeen, Texas, and remain overnight. 

 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about economic and security issues. Mnuchin also plans to travel through Nov. 5 to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, India and Qatar.

 

The Justice Votes 2020 town hall from noon to 5 p.m. in Philadelphia mixes presidential candidates with an audience of formerly incarcerated people and their families, representing a U.S. population numbering in the millions who are in or have passed through the prison system. Location: Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. Presidential candidates Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and billionaire businessman Tom Steyer are expected to attend the first-of-its-kind event. Information HERE. Live streamed on NowThisNews.

ELSEWHERE

➔ Wildfires: Ferocious winds have gusted to an incredible 96 mph in parts of California, helping to fuel at least 17 fires, many of them burning out of control and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. The fire events have led to planned blackouts in parts of the state, and power may remain off through Wednesday (The Los Angeles Times). On Sunday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a statewide emergency (The Hill).

 

 

 

 

> Alzheimer’s: The disease is a thief, stealing minds, robbing memories and walking away with time. Charles Ogletree Jr., 66, a commanding leader and scholar in law and well known at Harvard and in Washington for decades, and his wife, Pam Ogletree, are one couple among millions navigating life with the disease. “Pam always imagined things would slow down one day. The requests would come less frequently, his schedule would ease, and they would have more quiet time together. She never imagined that when they did, the man she loved would already be slipping away” (The Boston Globe).

 

➔ Brexit: The European Union agreed today for a second time to give the United Kingdom an extension to try to sort out a divorce agreement in Parliament. The current Oct. 31 deadline now shifts to Jan. 31 (The Associated Press).

 

➔ Gun violence: Jewish synagogues and institutions across the country have gone to some lengths to strengthen their building’s security measures and ensure their communities’ safety since a gunman killed 11 people a year ago at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh (The Hill). … Education groups and children’s privacy advocates are opposed to a long-awaited GOP proposal to combat gun violence because of provisions they say could result in the “over-surveillance” of minors (The Hill). …Two people were killed and 12 injured late on Saturday in Greenville, Texas, during a shooting at an off-campus party among about 750 people. One unidentified male suspect with a handgun fled the scene and remains at large this morning (USA Today).

 

➔ Consumer spending: U.S. consumers are forecast to spend less this year on Halloween paraphernalia, which could be but one indication of changing consumer behavior as imports from China remain under U.S. tariffs and some economists look for signs of a future recession (The Hill). 

 

➔ Fiscal fitness: WARNING: Economists and budget hawks are sending up red flares while lawmakers and presidential candidates appear to be shrugging off huge federal deficits. Since last year, the government’s red ink surged 26 percent to $984.4 billion — its highest point in seven years, according to administration data released on Friday. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the deficit will stay above $1 trillion over the next decade (The Associated Press). 

THE CLOSER

And finally … A 30-foot Colorado blue spruce, transplanted from Pennsylvania, became the new National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse near the White House on Saturday, replacing the previous evergreen damaged by a storm and by an unauthorized climber. The spruce will sparkle on Dec. 5 during the annual lighting ceremony for the National Christmas Tree (The Washington Post).